Elizabeth (biblical figure)
Elizabeth (also spelled Elisabeth; Hebrew: אֱלִישֶׁבַע "My God is abundance", Standard Hebrew: Elišévaʿ, Tiberian Hebrew: ʾĔlîšéḇaʿ; Greek: Ἐλισάβετ Elisabet / Elisavet) was the mother of John the Baptist, the wife of Zechariah, and maternal aunt of Mary, mother of Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke and in Islamic tradition. She was past normal child-bearing age when she conceived and gave birth to John.
"Saint Elisabeth" redirects here. For other saints of this name, see Saint Elizabeth.
Elizabeth
1st century BC
One of the hills of Judea
1st century BC (or early AD)
- 5 November (Roman Catholic)
- 5 September (Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican)
Apocrypha[edit]
Elizabeth is mentioned in several books of the Apocrypha, most prominently in the Protevangelion of James, in which the birth of her son, the subsequent murder of her husband, as well as her and John's miraculous escape during the Massacre of the Innocents are chronicled.
Sainthood[edit]
Elizabeth is revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church on 5 November, and in the Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican traditions on 5 September, on the same day with her husband Zacharias/Zechariah. She is commemorated as a matriarch in the Calendar of Saints (5 September) of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and Zacharias is commemorated as a prophet.[5]
She is also commemorated on 30 March in Eastern Orthodox Church (Visitation).[6][7]
Mandaeism[edit]
In Mandaeism, Enišbai (Classical Mandaic: ࡏࡍࡉࡔࡁࡀࡉ, romanized: ʿnišbai) is the Mandaic name for Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. Enišbai is mentioned in chapters 18, 21, and 32 of the Mandaean Book of John.[14][15]